Ulica Knez Mihailova, the main pedestrian street of Belgrade, Serbia, will also be patrolled by Chinese police officers. For at least a month, nine Chinese police officers will work side by side with around twenty Serbian agents. It is not the first time that Chinese police officers have joined their Serbian counterparts in joint patrol operations in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Smederevo, the three main Serbian cities that include important factories such as steel, as well as the most visited places by Chinese tourists. Chinese-owned mills in Smederevo.
Belgrade and Beijing: a marriage of convenience
The partnership began in 2019, when the respective Interior Ministers of China and Serbia signed a memorandum of understanding on joint patrols between the two police forces in Serbian cities with a higher presence of tourists from the Asian giant. The boom in Chinese visitors began in 2017 when Serbia abolished visas for Chinese people and many travel agencies offered group tours of Serbian villages, where residents dress in traditional folk costumes for ceremonies such as weddings and feature many local dishes and dances. It is a magnet for Chinese tourists. So much so that 40 thousand visitors entered Serbia from Asian countries in the first half of 2023. Interest is completely economical. With an estimated at least 20,000 Chinese nationals residing in Serbia, the Chinese community in this Balkan country could potentially deepen the reach of Beijing’s soft power, propaganda messages, and even political and economic involvement. China is actually increasing its participation in the Serbian economy, with major investments expected in 2023.
Thus, China could exacerbate tensions between Kosovo and Serbia
Over time, Beijing has sought to present itself as a strategic investor that does not interfere in domestic political issues and is willing to ignore certain issues such as state aid, corruption or labor laws. The Asian giant thus won the sympathy of Serbian political leaders with the loans it received from Chinese banks to finance infrastructure projects in the Western Balkan country.
In fact, Serbia is becoming an increasingly central hub in the Balkans of the Chinese New Silk Road, both at the infrastructure and political level. Due to its geographical location, the country is China’s main access point to the European market, where Chinese companies can sell their products and earn huge revenues. The figures give an idea about the amount of Chinese investments in the Western Balkan country. According to this Balkan Investigative Journalism Network (BIRN) announced that China’s investments in Serbia reached 10.3 billion euros in the 2009-2021 period. But despite the inflow of Chinese capital, the EU remains the main economic partner, with 70% of total foreign direct investment and 81% of exports (Serbia still expects to join the EU in 2012).
What will Chinese agents do in Serbia?
The reinforcement of agents from Beijing is aimed at protecting both tourists and Chinese workers in Serbia. Their presence in the Balkan country has raised suspicions and concerns about its association with the opening of various Chinese police “stations” outside the Great Wall (also present in Italy): these outposts pose a threat to the security and sovereignty of countries in the region. They exist as well as representing a tool for the Chinese government to continue its hunt for dissidents. In Serbia, opposition to President Aleksandar Vucic has pointed to Belgrade’s ties with Moscow and Beijing. The right-wing Serbian leader says he is tired of being lectured by other European leaders about their relations with Russia and China. In an interview with Euronews in 2020, President Vucic reiterated that his country still believes in EU membership, despite general skepticism towards Brussels.
Because there are Chinese police stations in Italy
Beyond argument, Chinese agents’ skills are limited. Chinese police officers do not have the authority to make arrests, but they will be able to fully contribute to the legality case by working with their Serbian counterparts. The agreement signed between Belgrade and Beijing also foresees joint exercises of special police and cooperation units to combat cybercrime. The resumption of joint patrols by Chinese and Serbian police also affects Croatia and Italy.
Italy to resume joint patrols
In 2015, the Italian government signed the agreement on joint patrols with more Chinese citizens between Italian and Chinese security forces in Italian cities, based on the “memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs signed in The Hague on September 24.” We read the relevant Department of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China in an article published on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in May 2016 to promote the initiative launched at that time. The agreement between Rome and Beijing allows Italian police to parade alongside their Chinese counterparts in Rome, Milan, Turin and Venice for four consecutive years, but only in “areas of interest to Chinese tourists”. Only since 2018, patrols have been checking the streets of cities such as Prato or Padua, thus outside traditional Chinese tourist tours, but in areas where Chinese immigration is very dense.
Operations were temporarily halted by the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, but are unlikely to continue. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also believes this and said in an interview with the newspaper Il Foglio: “Joint police patrols with China” are standard memorandums and concern other countries as well. The owner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said last December that “forms of cooperation will no longer be practiced and copied in other ways.”
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Source: Today IT

Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.